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CIHM/ICMH 

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10X 

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18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

J 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmad  h«r«  has  b««n  rsproducsd  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Legislature  du  Quebec 
Qirfbec 


L'sxamplaJra  fllmA  fut  raproduit  grAca  A  la 
gin4rositi  da: 

Legislature  du  Quebec 
OwHmc 


Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  baat  quailty 
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of  tha  original  copy  and  in  k^aping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacifications. 


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pius  grand  soin.  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  «t 
da  la  nattat*  da  I'axampiaira  fllmA.  at  an 
conformiti  avac  las  conditiona  du  sontrat  da 
filmago. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  fllmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  eovar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impraa- 
aion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  impraaaion. 


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par  la  pramiar  plat  at  9n  tarminant  loit  par  ia 
damiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'Impraaaion  ou  d'lllustration.  soit  par  ia  sacond 
plat,  salon  ia  eaa.  Tous  iaa  autraa  axampiairaa 
originaux  sont  filmto  an  common^nt  par  ia 
pramiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
dimprasaion  ou  d'llluatration  at  9n  tarminant  par 
la  damiAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 


Tha  laat  racordad  frama  on  aach  microfieha 
shall  contain  tha  symuoi  — ^(maaning  "CON* 
T1NUE0").  or  tha  symbol  ▼  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appliaa. 


Un  doa  symbolaa  suivants  apparaftra  sur  la 
damiAra  imaga  da  Qhaqua  microfieha.  salon  la 
eaa:  la  symbols  «»•  signifia  "A  SUIVRE".  ia 
aymboia  ▼  signifia  "FIN". 


IMaps.  piataa,  ctiarts,  ate.,  may  ba  irijn\«d  at 
diffarant  reduction  ratioa.  Thoaa  too  large  to  ba 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaura  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  comer,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  framee  aa 
required.  The  following  diagrama  iiiuatrata  the 
method: 


l.aa  cartea.  pianchaa.  tableaux,  etc..  pauvent  Atro 
fiim4e  i  dee  taux  da  rMuction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  eet  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
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da  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  k  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  baa.  an  pranant  le  nombre 
d'Imegea  nicaaaaira.  Lea  diagrammea  suivants 
illuatrant  ia  mitluMle. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

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r 

BLACK  KIVF/R 

COPPER  MINING  COMPANY. 

1                                   ■-      '  -                      < 

Ge()L()(;ical  Survey  and  REi»oiiT, 

J3Y    Jm.  C.  T.   .lAUKSON, 

OCTDUKU    22.    1862.      - 

1 

1                                                                              .,.                .          - 

j                                                                                                                                                                                                                        -■;       . 
i 

BOSTON; 

I'KKSS    OK    (lEO.   C.    HAiNM)   S:    \\FA\Y,   3   COllNIlILL, 

1862. 

:0t»^ 


B 


REPORT 


UPON  TlIK  PllOPKKTY  OF  THK 


BLACK    RIVER   MINES, 


SITUATED  IN  LOTBENIERE  COUNTY,  C.  E. 


BY   DR.    C.    T.   JACKSON. 


OCTOBER    22,     1862. 


BOSTON: 
PRESS  OF  GEO.  C.  RAND  &  AVERY,  3  CORNHILL. 

1862. 


^\ 


iX^"^  ^'^^ 

^C,TRUN.<T0 

VVWHAM  MINE 

^^'''illll.llll  .Sli) 

ACtON    MINE 

Sllil'liril 

Sull 

SlhWnifl    //li    /If, si/ I  nil   III    III 

BLACK  RIVER  COPPER  MINE. 

in  Ciiiiiiilii    KiiKl. 


DR.   JACKSON'S   REPORT. 


N 


Boston,  Oct.  22,  1862. 
Edward  G.  Tileston,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir:  At  your  request  and  in  your  company,!  visited 
and  examined  the  Black  River  Copper  Mines  in  Canada  East, 
and  would  now  record  my  observations  on  the  same. 


/ 

NK  TO 

''•iiiinil 


situation  op  the  mines. 

The  B.-ack  River  Copper  Mines  are  situated  in  the  parish 
of  St.  Flavien,  Lotbeniere  County,  in  latitude  46°25'  north 
and  longitude  71°30'  west  of  Greenwich,  as  appears  from  the 
map  of  Canada,  and  are  in  a  well-known  cupriferous  belt, 
which  crosses  the  country  in  a  nearly  north-east  and  south- 
west direction.  The  mineral  land  comprises  220  acres,  100 
of  which  ia  Shaw's  lot,  and  120  is  called  the  Company  lot. 

Sir  William  Logan,  chief  of  the  Canadian  Geological  Sur- 
vey, in  his  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  the  economic  minerals 
of  Canada,  sent  to  the  London  International  Exhibition  for 
1862,  states,  on  page  13 :  — 


BLACK  mVEB  MINE. 

"  At  St  Flavien,  about  five  leagues  above  the  Cbaudiere,  and  two  leagues 
from  the  St.  Lawrence,  red  shales  occur,  underlaid  by  a  band  of  amygda- 
loidal  diorite ;  this  appears  to  occupy  the  place  of  the  magnesian  limestone,  to 
which  the  band  at  Acton  belongs.  It  is  between  a  quarter  and  half  a  mile 
wide,  and  limestones  occur  both  at  the  summit  and  at  the  base  of  the  band, 
which  in  those  parts  appear  to  be  of  a  concretionary  or  conglomerate  and 
brecciated  character ;  being  composed,  particularly  at  the  base,  of  rounded 
and  angular  masses  of  an'ygdaloidal  diorite,  varying  in  diameter  from  two 
inches  to  two  feet. 

"  Many  of  these  are  calcareous,  and  much  of  the  rock  is  red.  The  interstices 
among  the  masses  are  filled  with  caic  spar,  which  is  transversely  fibrous 
towanls  the  walls  and  incloses  crystallized  quartz  iu  the  centre.    This  band 


I 


iii  hi^'hly  ounrifuroiiM,  nnd  oruH  of  copper  occur  l)oth  in  tho  Iwds  and  in  vninH 
or  lodi'H  wlnt'li  cut  tlioni:  tho  hcarinjif  of  flio  vcinn,  howcvur,  iicin;^  with  tho 
fltriko.  Tlio  oro  in  tho  IkkIs  in  copper  pyritcM,  Iivrjj;o  niaHsoH  of  which,  Himi- 
lar  to  th(!  one  cxhibitod,  aro  ONHOciatod  with  tho  liinuHtonoH  »t  tho  top.  Tho 
veinf,  in  addition  to  coppor  pyritcH,  hold  tho  variogiitod  and  vitroouH  huI- 
phuretH. 

"  In  ono  ipot,  nntivo  copper  occurs  in  small  uiaHHCH  in  tho  confiiomerato  at 
the  base  of  the  dinrito.  Tnc  whole  hand  has  a  Htrikniu;  reMoniblaucte  to  houio 
of  tho  rocks  of  tin;  upper  uoppur-buaring  sorios  of  Laku  Superior.  Quebeu 
group,  Lower  Silurian." 

Sir  William  states  that  "  six  coppor-boarinf;^  ])cdg  or  veins, 
incluilin<jf  those  of  Black  River,  are  all  included  in  the  Lau/on 
and  Farnhani  synclinal."  They  all  bclonf!^  to  the  ^^rcat  cupri- 
ferous belt  above  mentioned,  as  will  bo  seen  by  the  annexed 
map  of  tho  copper  rc<;ion. 

The  Black  River  Mines  aro  very  favorably  situated,  not 
only  for  mining,  but  also  for  convenient  transportation  of  the 
ores  to  market,  tho  distance  from  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway 
station,  at  Black  River  settlement, being  only  six  miles.  The 
country  around  is  settled  by  Canadian  French  people,  who 
seek  employment  in  the  fascinating  business  of  mining,  and 
who  labor  for  unusually  moderate  wages. 


# 


OEOLOOT   OP   THE   REGION. 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary  for  me  to  say  much  on  the  ge- 
ology of  the  Black  River  Mines  after  having  quoted  tho  com- 
pact statement  by  the  distinguished  chief  of  tho  Canadian 
Geological  Survey.  I  would  merely  add  that  my  observations 
coincide  very  nearly  with  his;  especially  if  tho  lower  Silurian 
is  regarded  as  belonging  to  tho  Taconic  system  of  Emmons. 
The  amygdaloidal  trap,  which  is  so  liberally  intermixed  with, 
and  even  interstratiQed  with  tho  red  slates  at  these  mines, 
resembles  tho  toadstono  of  Derbyshire,  England ;  the  vesicles 
are  very  small,  and  are  filled  generally  with  calcareous  spar, 
the  removal  of  which,  by  tho  agency  of  tho  weather,  gives  to 
the  surface  of  the  rock  that  peculiar  pitted  or  variolous  aspect, 
marking  it  as  an  ancient  lava,  or  plutonic  rock.     Those  trap- 


pcari  masacB  ore  very  irrej^ularly  diHposed  in  the  slatca,  and 
do  not  appear  to  form  rnj^idur  dykes,  Imt  seem  to  have  lieoii 
poured  out  upon,  or  in  the  niidstof  the  strata,,  anterior  to  their 
elevation  from  their  orij^inal  horizontal  Hituation.  There 
appears  to  have  been  Imt  little  cliomieal  ed'ci-vesence  produced 
by  the  intrusions  of  the  trappcan  roeks  into  arj^illaeoous  strata, 
a  fact  1  have  for  many  years  observetl,  and  one  that  is  stronj^- 
ly  in  contrast  with  the  violent  chemieal  reaction  which  took 
place  when  trap  rocks,  in  a  state  of  iuiioous  fusion,  were 
poured  out  amid  sandstone  strata,  as  shown  in  \ova  Scotia, 
Maine,  and  on  Keweenaw  Point  and  Isle  lloyaie.  Lake  Supe- 
rior. Ar«j;illaccous  materials  do  not  appear  to  have  formed 
amyjjjdaloid  and  trappcan  breccias  with  tlie  i<:;ncous  rocks  so 
readily  as  the  sandstones  have  done.  We  observe,  however, 
that  the  o.xido  of  iron  in  the  slates  is  all  per-oxidizcd,  or  con- 
verted into  the  red  oxide  of  iroi ,  as  seen  in  the  red  shales  or 
slates  of  these  mines.  This  chemical  action  is  very  marked, 
and  bears  some  relation  to  the  {gaseous  emanations  which 
l)rought  in  the  copper  ores,  or  the  materials  which  produced 
these  ores.  Chloride  of  copper  and  ses(|ui-chloride  of  iron 
are  very  volatile,  rising  in  vapor  at  a  temperature  a  little 
above  that  of  boiling  water.  These  chlorides,  if  they  came 
in  contact  with  another  very  abundant  volcanic  exhalation, 
sulphuretted  hydrogen,  would  be  decomposed,  and  sulphides  of 
iron  and  of  copper  would  result,  and  these,  by  their  combina- 
tion in  different  proportions,  would  form  vitreous,  purple 
and  yellow  copper  ores,  such  as  we  lind  in  the  Canadian 
mines,  while  both  chlorine  and  thechlorliydric  acid  would  tend 
to  produce  from  the  nrotoxide,  and  to  diffuse  in  the  soft 
materials  of  slaty  sedimcut,  the  ncr-oxide  of  iron.  Thus 
chemistry  offers  a  ready  solution  to  the  geological  problem  of 
the  origin  and  mode  of  formation  of  copper  ores,  and  tliei:* 
deposition  in  veins  and  beds  in  sedimentary  rocks.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  all  metalliferous  veins  were  derived  from 
igneous  vapors,  exhaled  from  the  interior  of  the  globe.     It  is 


6 


J 


/i-  ' 


obvious  that  the  theory  of  sublimation  of  some  ores,  as  such, 
cannot  be  maintained,  for  they  arc  not  volatile,  but  the  matter? 
from  wliich  they  might  be  formed  are  highly  volatile,  and  by 
double  decomposition  with  other  gases  and  vapors  we  can 
see  how  the  ores  may  have  been  formed.  Galena  and  cinna- 
bar may  be  easily  sublimed  unaltered. 

Tlic  theory  of  Werner,  which  some  have  lately  attempted  to 
revive,  is  simply  absurd,  for  the  ores  are  not  soluble  in  water. 
Nor  can  we  galvanize  a  non-cupriferous  rock  so  as  to  make  it 
segregate  copper.  The  copper  ores  must  all  have  been  de- 
rived from  below,  and  probably  by  vaporous  sublimation.  This 
volcanoes  prove  in  the  most  positive  manner,  as  may  be  seen 
at  their  fumaroles  and  in  volcanic  craters. 

Iron  ores,  copper  ores,  lead  ores,  and  even  gold  have  been 
brought  up  from  below  by  metalliferous  vapors.  Gold  pro- 
bably was  conveyed  by  the  sesqui-chloride  of  iron,  the  decom- 
position of  which,  by  the  action  ot  water,  produced  specular 
and  magnetic  iron  ores,  and  the  go -.d  was  deposited  with  them 
in  its  metallic  state.  The  oxides  of  iron  we  see  in  the  form 
of  black  sand  everywhere  found  in  gold  washings. 

The  Chaudicre  region  is  also  auriferous ;  and  I  obtained 
Bome  scales  of  gold  from  a  handful  of  gravel  taken  from  a 
small  stream  near  the  Black  River  Copper  Mines.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  gold  will  also  be  found  in  the  copper  ores  of  these 
mines. 

CHARACTER   OP    TUB    COPPER    VEINS. 

Black  River  Mines  show  an  abundance  of  rich  copper 
pyrites  at  their  very  ouicrops,  and  the  superficial  openings 
that  have  been  made  by  explorers  exhibit  the  ore  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  leave  no  doubt  ad  to  the  richness  of  the  mineral 
ground.  Some  of  the  veins  contain  calcai-eous  spar  as  a  vein- 
stone, and  eopj)er  ores  of  various  kinds  are  mixed  with  it. 
Other  veins  have  a  quartz  gangue,  or  matrix,  and  the  yellow 
copper  pyrites  is  sometimes  intimately  mixed  with  this  min- 
eral.    All  the  ores,  however,  present  a  good  workable  appear- 


anco,  and  moat  of  them  are  sufficiently  pure  to  send  to  market 
without  any  dressing. 

Masses  of  clean  ore,  some  hundreds  of  pounds  in  weight, 
have  been  taken  from  these  veins,  and  several  tons  of  rich 
copper  pyrites  in  large  lumps  may  now  be  scon  on  bank  at 
the  mines.  Some  of  these  masses,  at  present  before  me,  are 
six  inches  thick,  and  one  of  them  nearly  a  foot  square,  and 
are  very  clean  copper  ore. 

The  course  of  the  copper  veins  was  found  to  be  N.  63°  E. 
S.  63"  W.,  and  their  general  dip  is  85°,  or  very  nearly  ver- 
tical. 

This  position  of  the  veins  is  very  favorable  for  mining 
operations,  since  perpendicular  shafts  will  keep  long  in  the 
lode,  and  the  expense  of  many  extensive  cross-cuts  and 
winzes  in  de^d  ground  will  be  avoided. 

I  should  think,  from  what  I  saw,  that  there  was  a  prospect 
at  this  locality  for  extensive  mining  operations  with  reason- 
able expectations  of  success.  The  work  done  thus  far  is 
very  superficial,  and  is  such  as  is  usually  performed  for  mere 
explorations  preparatcy  to  mining. 

I  would  add,  that  the  Black  River  ores  may  be  dressed, 
like  those  from  Acton  and  Wickhatn,  to  from  15  to  20  percent, 
very  easily,  and  much  of  the  ore  needs  no  dressing  at  all.  It 
may  be  broken  to  egg  size  and  be  sent  to  the  smelters  at  once. 

Those  ores  which  are  mixed  with  veinstone  or  rock  will, 
of  course,  bo  dret;^od  in  tlie  usual  way,  so  as  to  get  clear  of 
all  the  superfluous  rock  before  sending  them  to  market. 

I  would  also  remark,  that,  since  these  mines  produce  two 
kinds  of  ores,  one  mixed  with  limestone,  or  calc  spar,  and 
the  other  with  quartz,  they  will  llux  each  other  in  the  smelt- 
ing furnacr. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Chari-es  T.  Jackson,  M.D. 
Geologist  and  State  Assayer. 


■if 


^' 


APPENDIX. 


Boston,  Nov.  12,  1862. 


t   H 


Edward  U.  Tilrston,  Esq. 


Dear  Sir  :  I  have  made  a  chemical  assay  of  a  portion  of 
the  mass  of  solid  ore  taken  from  the  Company  lot,  and  find 
that  it  consists  of  84.5  per  cent,  of  copper  pyrites,  mixed 
with  a  little  iron  pyrites,  and  the  copper  contained  in  100 
parts  by  weight  of  the  ore  —  taken  without  separation  from 
tlio  rock  —  is  21.7  per  cent.,  and  on  the  ore  free  from  the 
rock  it  yields  24.5  per  cent,  of  metallic  copper. 

One  hundred  grains  of  this  ore,  searched  for  gold,  did  not 
yield  a  trace  of  that  metal.  If  it  is  found  in  the  Black  River 
Mines  it  will  probably  be  in  the  iron  pyrites,  and  in  the 
"'ossan  or  decayed  walls  of  the  lodes,  though  it  is  possible 
thru,  it  may  exist  in  some  portions  of  the  copper  pyvites  also. 

Respectfully,  your  obedisn*  servant, 

CHARLES  T.  JACKSON,  M.L., 

State  Assayer. 


12,  1862. 


portion  of 
t,  and  find 
ites,  mixed 
ned  in  100 
ration  from 
je  from  the 

Did,  did  not 
Jlack  River 
and  in  the 
lis  possible 
lyvites  also. 


EDWARD  G.  TILESTON  &  CO. 


%\\i  gauiT  <^tcanuJu}i  (|ompani)  g^grnta, 

No.  74  FRANKLIN  STREET, 


Assayer. 


